The Presence of Autumn
by Malkharah
Summary: The Inuyasha gang rescues someone who is willing to join their quest, but her very presence turns everything on its head. What IS she and why does she have such an impact on Inuyasha? But what about the others? What about Kagome?
1. Just Another Shard Hunt

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Okay. sigh I do not Inuyasha or anything you recognize from said series. There! I said it! You happy? tries to shrug off hand of official-type person Let me go. I have chapters to write...

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Chapter One: Just Another Shard Hunt

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Kagome breathed in deeply as she looked up at the sky. All she could see from the bottom of the well was a bright square, but she didn't think it could have possibly been more perfect. It was bright blue, there were high fluffy white clouds drifting slowly across it, the breeze was warm and sweet and reached her nose even at the bottom of the well. She smiled and heaved her bag up onto her shoulders and began climbing her way out.

Her sixteenth birthday was less than a month off and she was looking forward to it greatly. Her friends in the future were planning the party already. She could tell because of the conspiratorial twinkle in their eyes and the way the conversation died instantly when she entered the room. Her mother was in on it too; she'd begun locking the study door, something Kagome could not remember her mother ever doing, and walking away humming merrily to herself with a tiny smile on her face.

Even with all of that happening in the future, Kagome was still glad to return to the Feudal Era. Perhaps even more so because of it. It seemed that the more time she spent in the past, less often did she want to go to the future, and the less time she wanted to spend there. The past felt more like her home, now. It was quieter here, for one thing. No cars, no planes, no electronics.

Reaching the top of the well Kagome threw her bag over the lip and jumped over after it. She straightened her skirt and took a moment to catch her breath before grabbing her bag, hoisting it onto her shoulders once again and collecting her bike. Her bike made travel here possible. Without it it would take her twice as long to reach the village. As it was, it took her five minutes of brisk pedaling to reach the outskirts of the village.

The rice farmers stood up from their planting and smiled at her, waving in greeting. Kagome smiled back and kept on pedaling.

Of all the strange things to see when she found Inuyasha, Shippou, and the others, the about the thing she least expected to see was what greeted her. Inuyasha was sprawled on his back under a large maple tree, mouth agape and snoring like a rip-saw. Shippou was sprawled on his back on top of Inuyasha's stomach, snoring a lighter counterpoint to Inuyasha's earth-shattering cacophony. It was about the cutest thing Kagome had ever seen and she would have killed someone for a camera.

A short distance away, Sango was seated on a blanket in the grass polishing her giant boomerang with a slight smile on her face as she watched Miroku play silly chase games with the village children. Kirara was curled up against her hip. Off to the right Kaede was chatting idly with another woman of the village while pulling weeds from her herb garden.

Kagome felt utterly at peace as she quietly leaned her bike against the maple tree under which Inuyasha and Shippou were sprawled. She sank down into the cool, shady grass next to them and leaned back to watch Miroku's exploits. She glanced over at Inuyasha when his snoring stopped and saw his nose twitch, followed shortly by one of his ears flicking.

"How long have you been back?" He demanded gruffly. His voice was quiet, though, and Shippou slept on undisturbed.

Kagome smiled, though Inuyasha didn't see it. "Only a little while. What's been happening here?"

"Nothing." Inuyasha grunted. He opened his eyes finally and turned brilliant golden orbs on her. "It's been as much fun as watching laundry dry. Which is about all I've been doing when I wasn't sleeping. I'm bored. I want some action."

Kagome laughed lightly. "I think it's peaceful. It's nice not to have our lives be in danger for once."

Inuyasha grunted again, heaving his chest enough that Shippou stirred slightly before curling up again and resuming his slumber. "If it stays this peaceful I'll go nuts."

"Short trip." Kagome muttered.

"I heard that."

Kagome snickered. She turned and began rummaging in her pack for the thing she'd brought Inuyasha as a treat. Eventually she emerged with a box of Pocky. "I brought these for you."

Inuyasha sat up quickly, dislodging Shippou and tossing him carelessly to one side. Shippou bounced once before sliding to a stop on his back, still asleep. "What is it? Is it Ramen?"

"No, it's not Ramen!" Kagome tried not to laugh, still mad at the way Inuyasha had just flung Shippou aside like a piece of trash. "They're Pocky, and I'm not sure I want to give them to you now, after the way you just chucked Shippou clear across the yard!"

Inuyasha solved that problem. Before Kagome even blinked he'd snatched the box out of her hands and neatly sliced it open with one of his claws, revealing the contents to his nose. He took one cautious whiff before chowing down on them with a delighted smile on his face.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome protested, but it was half-heartedly. She just couldn't ruin such a beautiful day by Sitting him.

Inuyasha happily crunched his way through almost an entire box of Pocky. While he was still in the middle of it Miroku was chased over by the children. He collapsed in the grass a few feet away under a giggling torrent of munchkins. After a bit he convinced them that he was tired and would play with them again later, but that for now he needed to rest. The kids wandered off in small clusters to find their own amusements.

"How were your tests, Kagome?" Miroku enquired, after he had caught his breath.

Surprised that he'd remembered, Kagome was caught off guard for a moment. Then she smiled, "I think they went well! Math was the hardest, for sure, but I think History and Biology were both at least B's."

Miroku stared blankly for a moment and then nodded as though he understood what she'd said. She was about to tell him he didn't have to pretend when something caught her attention.

She caught the faintest tingle in the back of her mind, a slightly nagging little buzz that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Far to the north there was a jewel shard.

"Kagome, what is it?" Inuyasha asked, seeing the far off, slightly unfocused look in her eyes.

"I sense a jewel shard." She pointed. "To the north quite a ways. But it's there, and it's big."

Inuyasha was on his feet in a second. "Sango, Kirara, Shippou, get over here."

Sango and Kirara were there in a flash. Shippou was slower, stumbling over in a sleepy daze. He caught sight of Kagome though and shook it off, jumping happily into her arms. "Kagome! Did you bring me any chocolate?"

"Shippou, I—"

"Not now, wench." Inuyasha cut her off, turning to the rest of the group. "There's a jewel shard to the north and Kagome says it's a big one. Everyone pack your stuff. I want to leave in fifteen minutes."

Well, fifteen minutes later they were on the road and traveling fast. Kagome rode on Inuyasha's back clutching Shippou to her. Sango and Miroku rode on Kirara. They made incredible speed, traveling the hundred or so miles to near where Kagome said she had sensed the jewel shard. Nights they spent camping out under the stars. Kagome had brought a plentiful supply of future foods, much to everyone's delight, and they had a very enjoyable trip.

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That's it for now. Next chappie will be up shortly. Thanks for reading! If you have anything to say please leave a review. They're always nice to receive. Ja ne!


	2. Beat To The Punch

Ohayo. Still don't own it...

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Chapter Two: Beat To The Punch

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Just past noon on the third day after they'd left Kaede's village they were approaching the place Kagome had said she felt the shard. When they were near the place they dropped out of the trees and rested for a moment.

"Oi, Kagome, is it still around?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome concentrated for a moment. "Yeah, it's off to our north and a little east."

"Let's go." And the dog-demon promptly began stalking through the woods, his companions following in his wake.

After a while a faint scent came to his nose. He gestured for the others to halt and continued on by himself. The scent was strange to him, almost not even there, but his sensitive nose was still able to pick it up, even though the owner of it had left this area the day before.

It was warm and heady and seemed to fill his thoughts with images of the forest on a warm autumn day, and the temptation to find a patch of sunlight and bask. For some reason the scent made him blush. He felt like he should recognize the scent, though he knew for a fact that he'd never smelled it before. He would definitely have remembered it, without a doubt.

And so it was that he crept into a clearing and found the remnants of a battle. Several trees were lying on their sides having been smashed to splinters at about shoulder height and toppling to the earth. Patches of turf were shredded down to bare dirt, and the body of a large brown and green snake demon was sprawled across half the clearing in man-thick loops and coils. His arms reached to the sky in mute supplication and his fingers formed claws as though he were trying to fend off an attack. Inuyasha sniffed cautiously. The snake had definitely been dead for a day at least, but that strange heady aroma was still subtly present.

"Come here!" Inuyasha called. His voice sounded strained to his own ears, and he cleared his throat, trying to will himself to stop blushing. He heard his companions begin crashing through the undergrowth. Curious, he walked around to the far side of the dead snake demon and found out exactly how it had been killed. It was impaled back first on a sharp tree stump, the point of which tore through its low abdomen.

"Inuyasha, what—" Kagome began as she stumbled out of the trees, but she immediately caught sight of the demon. "Oh, my." She grabbed at Shippou and tried to hide the scene from him but he squirmed out of her arms and came over to investigate.

"What a mess." Sango murmured. She looked at the snake with a slight frown on her face.

Shippou hopped around the clearing sniffing at the air. "What's that smell?"

"What smell, Shippou?" Miroku asked curiously.

"That wonderful smell! Can't you smell it? It's everywhere!" Shippou continued sniffing the air, pausing occasionally to inhale low to the ground. Kirara was making circuits as well, stepping delicately through the gore of the dead snake demon. She was purring loudly enough to fill the clearing with her low-pitched rumble. She stopped and made an odd barking noise, pawing lightly at the earth in that spot.

Shippou bounced over to investigate. "What did you find, Kirara?"

Inuyasha came over as well and bent down to see what it was. There was a small patch of blood soaked into the dirt. He took a pinch of it and brought it to his nose. The heady aroma was so powerful it made him dizzy and thick with blood's coppery overtone; it was definitely a demon's blood. He inhaled the earth again, letting the warm, autumnal aroma fill his senses.

"Inuyasha, what are you—"

"Kagome, can you see the jewel shard anywhere?" Inuyasha demanded, standing up abruptly and scrubbing the dirt off of his hands and onto his hakama. He tried to breathe out the scent, but it seemed to cling in his mind. He couldn't make himself stop blushing. Shippou's face was pressed to the ground next to the blood, he was inhaling deeply and making little pup's noises. Inuyasha grabbed him roughly by the tail. "Enough of that!"

"But I want to smell it!" Shippou whined, squirming in Inuyasha's grasp. "It smells good!"

"Just forget about it!" Inuyasha growled. He tucked the still squirming kit under his arm. "Smell that instead."

"Aaahhhh!! Let me go! You're gross!"

Kagome went over to join him and Shippou, scanning the carcass for the shard but it was nowhere to be found. She looked at Inuyasha and shook her head in defeat.

"Damn!" He kicked a chunk of wood into the air in frustration.

Miroku wandered over. "Someone must have beaten us here."

"No shit, someone beat us here!" Inuyasha growled. "Son of a bitch! Kagome, can you still sense the shard?"

Kagome concentrated for a moment. "Yes. It's off to the east now, about thirty miles."

They left the clearing and stopped around five for a quick dinner. With plenty of sunlight left in the day they kept traveling. Around dusk they came upon a small village of about ten houses nestled against the side of a gently rolling hill, its slopes tiered for rice crops.

Curiously enough Miroku was able to determine that an ominous cloud hovered over this village. With a completely straight face he announced that it was his holy duty to rid the village of its foreboding shadow. His companions rolling their eyes, they followed him down into the little village.

"An ominous cloud, you say!" The village elder exclaimed. They had been ushered immediately into his home and served tea. "I'm so glad that you were passing through! I shudder to think what could have happened to my beloved home if it weren't for your expert skills, Revered Monk."

"Nonsense, sir. It's all in a day's work." Miroku assured him. It took about a half-hour of chanting and lying ofuda, but Miroku managed to convince the village elder that their village was now free of its ethereal shroud. When he came back to join them there was a lovely girl on his arm, the granddaughter of the elder; she stared up at him with admiring eyes vacant of any coherent thought.

"Oh, Houshi-sama, you're so wonderful." Her voice was high-pitched and airy and it grated on everyone's nerves, including Miroku's.

Inuyasha cleared his throat to try and hold in his laughter. "Listen, has anyone strange been through your village in the last day or so?"

The girl looked over at him curiously. "Other than you?"

Inuyasha closed his eyes for a moment to calm his impatience. "Yes, other than us."

She thought for a moment. "Well, yesterday around dusk some people came through the town asking about demons in the area."

"Who were they? What did they look like?" Inuyasha demanded.

She blinked at him for a moment. "Well, I didn't really get a good look at them. One was wearing some kind of cloak. It was white fur, with a baboon head for a mask. The other was dressed in greens and beiges that were absolutely filthy. Honestly, I wouldn't even let the servants use them for rags, that's how nasty they were."

Inuyasha frowned. Two of them; while the first was obviously Naraku, the second was a mystery.

"The one in the filthy clothes was silent, but the one in the baboon pelt was scary. Oh, I shudder to think that they may still be in the area." She shivered and clutched onto Miroku even tighter.

"Now, now, Ateda-san, you should go and get some rest. It's late." With that he disentangled himself from her arms and politely shoved her out the door, quickly sliding it closed behind her, bracing himself against it to hold it closed.

Sure enough, Ateda tried to open it again. "Houshi-sama, I can't open the door!"

"Really?" Miroku said in a surprised voice even as he looked back at where Inuyasha and Shippou were rolling on the ground in hysterical laughter. "Imagine that. It must be stuck somehow. I'll see you in the morning."

"But, I didn't get to give you a kiss good-night!"

"Oh, too bad." Miroku commiserated with a grimace on his face.

"Good-night, Houshi-sama." The girl sighed wistfully.

"Good-night." Miroku responded tolerantly. It was some time before he was willing to leave the door unattended, as though concerned that she might barge back into the room and try to take him by force.

Sango sat at the small table in the room nursing a cup of tea and holding a smug smile on her face. She swirled the tea in the cup to cool it slightly before raising it to her lips. Miroku eventually came and sat down next to her, putting his head in his hands and staring at the tabletop.

"That one backfired, didn't it, Houshi?"

He turned his head to look at her. It was times like this, when he managed to get close enough to her without raising her defenses, that he relearned exactly how beautiful she was. Her glossy black hair was pulled back into a low tail at her waist, leaving a few strands free to frame her face. Her bangs lay softly against the sides of her face and she looked peaceful as she sipped tea from the cup in her hands. Even the smile of smug satisfaction lent a cast of mischievousness to her features, making him think of wandering with her through the dark to secluded places.

He blinked and carefully worded his response. "Actually, I didn't make any moves on her. She just followed me around the compound while I was doing my blessings and latched on to me as I was returning here. I didn't even care to ask her to bear my children."

Surprised and slightly hopeful, Sango turned sparkling dark eyes on him. "Really?" The blush that touched her cheeks was lovely and made her look almost girlish.

Miroku nodded sagely. "Well, it takes all the fun out of the chase if she throws herself at me."

That said, Miroku was promptly unconscious and slightly moist about the head and shoulders and Sango was death-clutching the remains of her broken teacup.

Inuyasha watched the whole exchange with amusement, but once Miroku was out his thoughts went back to Naraku and his companion. Who was it?

He wanted to catch this demon and get that jewel shard. He **wanted** to know whose scent that was. The village held slightly stronger traces of it. But then perhaps it was only the fact that after he had handled the blood soaked dirt this afternoon he had wiped his hands on his hakama. The subtle but intoxicatingly rich, warm aroma surrounded him through the night. His dreams were pleasant for the first time in a long time and when he woke he felt well rested.

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S'all for now. Next one up soon. I have quite a bit written already, but I want to get some feedback before I throw it all online. Let me know what you think, it'll encourage me to post faster. Ja mata! 


	3. Inuyasha's Kind

(sniffles) You mean it's... n-not mine? (cries) But I want it!! Waaahhhhhhh!!! I want it!

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Chapter 3: Inuyasha's Kind

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They left the village about an hour after dawn. Miroku was lucky; apparently Ateda was a late sleeper, and they managed to leave the village long before she woke up. Once they were out of the village on foot, they stopped and mounted up as they had the previous day.

After about an hour of traveling Inuyasha felt Kagome's muscles clench against his back. "I sense another one! Turn south! They're both there!"

Inuyasha switched directions to follow what Kagome had indicated. He was still following that scent.

When they reached the next sight the victim was still dying. He was a moth demon; his wings were in tatters and there was a large hole in his chest from which his life's blood was flowing freely. Kagome quickly scanned his failing body but found that the shard had been removed. With pity on her face she moved back to let Inuyasha speak with him.

"Who did this to you?" Inuyasha asked.

The moth demon's lips peeled back to reveal sharp fangs coated in his own blood. He began to laugh darkly, but it quickly subsided into a bubbling cough. "You ask this of me, hanyou? How dare you, filth!" More coughing. "One of your **_kind_** killed me and stole my shard." He spat the word 'kind' like a curse and coughed again weakly. "I hope – hope..."

With a long bubbling sigh his life fled him.

Inuyasha cursed at length.

"One of your 'kind'?" Sango murmured. "What do you suppose he meant by that?"

"Perhaps that it was a hanyou, like Inuyasha." Miroku suggested, moving to stand next to Sango. His hand began to drift in the direction of her rear, but she promptly slapped it away and retreated to the other side of Kirara who growled at him warningly.

"Or maybe that it was an inu-youkai." Kagome said.

Inuyasha snorted. "There aren't **that** many of us. There are actually very few, maybe only a few dozen."

"Why is that?" Sango asked.

"Inu-youkai mate for life, and only bear one pup at a time." Myouga piped up.

"Where have you been hiding, you little coward?" Inuyasha smacked his retainer flat where he'd perched on his lord's shoulder.

"My Lord, I have not been hiding." Myouga defended himself after he recovered from his squashing. "I have been resting, conserving my skills for the day I must bring them to bear."

"What skills? Your ability to run from danger faster than someone a hundred times your size?" Inuyasha grumbled.

"My Lord, that's not fair! I—" Myouga began but Kagome cut him off.

"I can sense it again!" She exclaimed. She concentrated her thoughts on the energy that she could sometimes feel coming from the crystal. She felt it, not far to the east again. However she realized that either this shard was far bigger or there were several of them in one spot. She guessed that there was probably about one tenth of the jewel gathered into that one spot. That was a significant portion. "It's to the east again. Not far, and it's a big piece."

"How big?" Inuyasha asked as the others scrambled to collect themselves and mount up on Kirara's back.

"I'd say about a tenth of the whole jewel."

Inuyasha didn't waste any time. They were off again and traveling as fast as Inuyasha and Kirara could run. It had ceased to surprise him now, but that intoxicating aroma still filled the air. He was now nearly certain that it belonged to the demon they were chasing down.

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Short chapter this time, so I thought I'd post two simultaneously. Please review, it gives me warm fuzzies! 


	4. The Hidden Battle

(puppy eyes) Can I have it for Christmas?

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Chapter 4: The Hidden Battle

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They set down in a patch of dense woods and crept forward as quietly as possible, avoiding snags of deadwood and patches of dry fallen leaves. In this manner they were able to witness the end of the ensuing battle.

Inuyasha could hear it long before anyone else. His ears were rock steady as he concentrated all of his efforts on catching the slash of claws on flesh, the sickening crunch of breaking bone. The others even heard the cry of agony that followed the sound of a body hitting the ground. When they were nearly there, Inuyasha parted the undergrowth slightly to see what was going on. He had to suppress the urge to snarl and leap straight into the midst of the battle.

Blocking part of his view was a large rock, just out of arms' reach. To the right his view was clear however, and in that space was the hunched form of Naraku in his baboon pelt. He was not a part of the battle, but stood motionless to one side observing. Only partially visible was the large form of a scorpion demon. Many of its legs were crumpled beneath it, broken and bleeding, and there were many deep gashes along the underside of its body, but the deadly poisonous tail was still very much a threat.

With blinding speed the tail shot forward and stabbed at something on the ground in front of it. Something blocked from view by the rock in Inuyasha's field of vision. The tail shot forward several times in rapid succession, sending up a spout of earth at each blow. He could hear the heavy breathing of the person hidden by the rock, and he could definitely smell the alluring aroma they gave off.

He heard a gasp and he was surprised to realize that the battle was being fought by a female. He heard her roll and grunt softly at the impact. Then she dashed briefly into view and leapt into a long arc in the air, sailing clear over the top of the scorpion. She was moving so fast that all he saw of her was a fan of long gray and black hair and a flash of deepest green fabric. At the peak of her jump she turned a somersault and lashed out with a scattering of brilliant gold and blue energy blades, something similar in form to Inuyasha's Blades of Blood attack. They slammed into the scorpion, knocking it down and shredding much of its body. It struggled for a moment to rise but collapsed in defeat as the female demon changed direction in midair and delivered a killing blow with a mighty kick. The scorpion collapsed.

The female jumped again to land outside of the reach of the still twitching body, her back to Inuyasha's position. She sank to her knees and bowed her head, panting from exhaustion, and her tail curled forward to wrap around her knees. Naraku rose to his feet and began a slow clap of applause.

"You have done well again, my sweet flower." Naraku announced quietly in his cold voice. "Now collect the jewel shard and we'll move to our next target."

The female's head slumped and her shoulders shook, the muscles trembling from exhaustion. "Naraku, I can't. I have to rest." Her voice was taxed with strain, and trembled slightly in the same manner as her muscles. Nevertheless, she still had a beautiful voice. It was throaty and slightly breathless at present, but the timbre was warm and held a wealth of inflection.

"Nonsense, my flower." Naraku said. "You have at least one more battle in you."

"You can't keep driving me like this!" She exclaimed, jerking her head up. "You're going to kill me."

Naraku laughed. It was a cold sound that sent chills down Inuyasha's spine. "And why should I care if you live?"

She shook her head in defeat.

Inuyasha felt Kagome stir beside him. She tugged lightly on the edge of his haori and he turned his head to look at her.

She whispered as quietly as she could, barely making a sound but knowing that Inuyasha would hear. "She has a ring of shards around her neck, set in some sort of collar. There are about eight of them there, and she has more on her somewhere. I can sense them but I can't see them."

Inuyasha jerked his head slightly to acknowledge that he'd heard her and turned back to peer into the clearing.

The female rose to her feet and staggered haltingly into the wreckage of the scorpion's body, rummaging until she found the tip of the tail. She slashed into it with her claws and turned to come back out of the wreckage. When he finally caught a good look at her Inuyasha nearly gasped.

She **was** an inu-hanyou! A half-dog demon! The soft black tipped ears on top of her head were evidence more glaring than a brightly painted sign. Her hair was long, about mid-thigh length, and mostly a dark, filthy silvery gray. The ends of her hair were black as midnight and faded up into the grayness of the rest of her hair about a foot from the ends. Her tail was long and matted, it reached just a bit longer than her feet so she held it up off the ground unconsciously, and its tip was also jet black fading into gray about a quarter of the way up. Her bangs were long and framed her face messily, also black at the ends fading up into dingy white. Her eyes however stood out from the filth, they were such a marvelous shade of brilliant emerald green that they seemed to glow with their own inner light, and her skin was tan but smudged with dirt and blood as if from many fights and long hours on the road. Her legs were long and clad in a pair of deepest green hakama, while her haori was a grimy, patchy tan in color.

"Bring me the shard, my flower." Naraku whispered coldly.

"I'm not your damn flower." She hissed. But she did switch directions and make her way over to him. Inuyasha could see that the expression on her face was filled with loathing. "You don't want me dead. How will you get more shards if I'm dead?"

Naraku laughed. Suddenly the collar flashed a poisonous purpley-black and the female hit the ground like a rock. "My dearest flower, if you die I'll simply return to your village and slaughter everyone I find. Including your family."

Her face went pale as snow as she struggled to raise herself to her knees. "No. No, don't harm Kintaro and Natsumi! They're only kids; they can't defend themselves! My mother is only human! Naraku, please, I—"

"The solution is simple then, dear flower." Naraku purred as he touched one of her cheeks lightly with his claws.

From her knees she glared death up at him even as her hand rose tremblingly to pass him the shard.

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(A/N) Also slightly short, but I wanted there to be a break between chapters 3 and 4. For flow reasons... Okay, for my own piece of mind. What do I gotta do to some reviews around here?


	5. The Hanyous' Battle

Disclaimer: Inuyasha? (checks for Feds) Yeah, I own that. (crosses fingers behind back)

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Chapter 5: The Hanyous Battle

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Inuyasha decided that enough was enough. He leapt from the foliage and swept Tetsusaiga from its sheath. It flashed into full form and he leapt into the air to rain Hell down upon his foe. Before he slashed into the baboon pelt, Naraku turned and shouted at the female, "Run! Return to my fortress! Don't let them catch you at any cost, kill them all if you have to!"

The collar around her neck flashed that poisonous purple-black again and she was on her feet and running like the wind.

The Tetsusaiga ripped the baboon pelt into oblivion but Inuyasha didn't even give it a second thought. He called to Kagome and the others. "We have to catch her! Check Naraku's puppet quickly then follow me. Shippou, with me!"

"Right!" The little kitsune shouted as he latched on to the back of Inuyasha's haori. Inuyasha took off after the female. The flight was very difficult; she was exceedingly fast, and Inuyasha was almost positive that she should be outrunning him.

"Shippou, use your powers to slow her down!" Inuyasha told the fox-kit. "Illusions, Fox Fire, I don't care what, just do something!"

"I have to be able to see her!" Shippou said. He clambered up to Inuyasha's shoulder where he held on tight, straining his eyes to catch a glimpse of the female. They could both hear her crashing through the undergrowth ahead of them. She was hard to spot because the colors of her clothing made her blend into the forest so well. Ahead, Inuyasha caught a glimpse of her as she crashed headfirst into a tree, slamming her shoulder against it hard. He caught her grunt of pain as Shippou spotted her and threw one of his magic leaves. The leaf zipped through the air and stuck to a tree ahead of her and suddenly the tree seemed to swell so that it was many feet wide.

She skidded to a halt and scrambled to change directions and go around. Her hesitation cost her precious ground.

Shippou freed one of his hands and called out, "Fox Fire!"

A ball of blue and green flames leapt from his tiny outstretched hand and streaked through the air, exploding around her in a hemisphere of undulating light. She hit the wall of the hemisphere and was thrown back in a jolt of electricity. She fell to the ground writhing and it was enough time for Inuyasha to catch up entirely.

He hit the ground next to the dome of blue and green light and drew Tetsusaiga again, just incase he needed it. The female was trying to rise to her feet again, but her legs didn't seem to be capable of supporting her weight; they trembled and gave and deposited her on the forest floor again. Her breathing was almost a pant, ragged and too fast, and she was an absolute mess. There were blood and dirt stains all over her clothes, her hair and tail were matted and filthy and her body was far too thin.

Even in her disheveled, filthy state the air around her was laced with her heady intoxicating scent, though it was tainted with blood and fear and exhaustion. Inuyasha did his best to ignore it and when he spoke his voice was unnecessarily rough, rougher than he had intended it to be, anyway.

"Who are you and what is your business with Naraku?"

Inuyasha had heard many responses to his questions in his life. People had screamed at him in fear, in rage, in hatred, people had shot arrows at him or attacked him with swords, people had even laughed at him. They'd laughed coldly, cruelly, mockingly, even light-heartedly. But he had never heard someone laugh the way this female did now; her laugh was half-way between a sigh and a sob and completely devoid of any hope. Her shoulders shook violently, not from her laughter, but from her muscles trembling with fatigue. She shook her head in defeat and lifted it barely enough to make eye contact with him through the shield of Fox Fire. The one eye that locked on his was hypnotically green and glazed over with fear and desperation and self-loathing. Inuyasha perceived one thing about her in that instant; she fully expected to die soon, and to be followed by anyone and everyone who knew her.

Despite himself, Inuyasha felt pity for her form in his gut. He sheathed Tetsusaiga and sank to his knees on the ground next to the shield. Shippou released his jacket and hopped to the ground next to him. He looked at her and he looked at Inuyasha and he hoped that everything would be okay.

The confusion on her face was almost a relief by comparison to her earlier one of desolate surrender. She didn't understand why he wasn't preparing to kill her.

Inuyasha took a deep breath, ignoring her scent and calming his racing heart. "Tell me your name."

Once she had calmed down a bit more she swallowed once and spoke. "I am Akiko." She breathed for a few more moments and pushed her self upright a little bit more with perilously trembling arms, locking him with both of her eyes, brilliant emerald in the mask of grime and blood that obscured the rest of her face.

"What were you doing with Naraku?"

She gave that pathetic laugh of no hope. It was bitter and dry and empty. "I am his prisoner." She whispered.

"You seem pretty free to me." Inuyasha commented.

Her laugh this time was a startlingly loud bark. She bared her fangs in a grimace that appeared startlingly white and clean in her otherwise filthy face. "Ha! I am as much his prisoner in the open world as I would be chained to a wall in his dungeon." Her shoulders slumped and her elbows quivered ominously, she had to lock them to keep herself from collapsing face first in the dirt. When she spoke again her voice had returned to its former disconsolate whisper. "He has my mother, brother and sister. I have to obey his wishes for them to live. He... compels me with this foul collar."

Impulsively Shippou took a few steps closer to the edge of his field. "I'm sorry." He said. His bushy little tail drooped.

Akiko smiled at him sadly.

The others joined them then. Sango, Miroku, and Kagome were riding on the back of Kirara as she descended through the trees to alight in a flash of gold and orange flame. Her riders slid from her back and she shrank back to her tiny travel size, leaping into Sango's arms. Kagome cautiously approached and joined Inuyasha and Shippou at the edge of the blue-green dome.

Akiko surveyed them all with desperate eyes. "Let me go. Please." She pleaded. "I have to go to him."

Inuyasha closed his eyes and shook his head slightly. "We can't do that."

Her head dropped in defeat.

A moment later her head lifted again and Inuyasha could immediately tell that something wasn't right. The exhaustion appeared to be gone from her body entirely. She was tensed and ready to spring like a coil wound too tight. And her eyes... Her eyes were glowing that unwholesome shade of purpley-black. When she spoke her voice wasn't hers.

"Inuyasha." She hissed, baring her fangs and smirking. "You should release me. I can cause you more pain then you could ever begin to even conceive of. I have somewhere to be."

Recognizing the foul voice Inuyasha shook his head firmly. "I don't think so, Naraku. She won't be going anywhere. I won't let you keep her prisoner."

She hissed and spat her words. "I'll rape and murder her mother! I'll eviscerate her siblings! I'll massacre her village, down to the last weeping child. Release her or they all die."

"I won't let you get the jewel shards she has, and she has a lot of them." Inuyasha said.

She hunched her shoulders and prepared to spring. "Then know that you have killed them."

There was the impact of thunder in the air but without sound. The Fox Fire dome blew apart like a sheet of wet paper and she leapt straight at him, eyes flashing purpley-black, claws extended and teeth snapping. He rolled with the impact, pulling her with him to the ground and they brawled that way for a few moments, she snarling and punching hard, he trying to avoid her claws and teeth and hold her without hurting her too badly at the same time. The thing that got him in the end though was the tail he'd forgotten she had. She got it between them and cracked it like a whip against his middle, flinging him through the air and causing him to crash into a tree.

Struggling to his feet he saw Miroku about to unleash his Kazaana. Sango was holding Akiko off with the broad edge of the Hiraikotsu and Kagome was drawing one of her arrows.

"Don't hurt her!" He yelled.

Startled, Miroku and Kagome turned to look at him.

"She's a victim!" He said as he leapt back into the fight. As Akiko attacked Sango relentlessly Inuyasha dove into the fray once more, slamming into the snarling hanyou and carrying her to the ground. She ended up on the top this time and pulled back her fist to slam into his head, snarling like a rabid mongrel.

Just before she made that move Kagome fired one of her holy arrows. It sheared through the air and struck the black collar studded with pink gemstones that encircled her neck; pieces of the Shikon no Tama. The collar erupted in crackling pink energy that consumed both its wearer and the other hanyou she was sitting on. They both screamed in agony, the power of the tainted shards searing their every fiber until, quite abruptly, Akiko went limp as a marionette with no strings and collapsed on top of Inuyasha as a dead weight.

The collar smoked from the release of energy, rising from her neck in acrid wisps. Feeling like he'd been roasted alive, Inuyasha sat up and checked the body of the girl who had collapsed on him for a pulse. At first he couldn't find one, so he put his ear to her chest; it was there, but it was as faint as the beating of a butterfly's wings. He gently pushed her off of him and sat up the rest of the way as the others came over to join him.

"Inuyasha, are you alright?" Kagome demanded as she dropped to her knees beside him. Tears were standing in her eyes and she smelled of fear and sorrow. "I didn't know that would happen, I swear. You're okay, right?"

"I'm fine." Inuyasha informed her hoarsely. He struggled to his feet and inspected his person, fully expecting to be lightly blackened around the edges and smoking. As he moved, tendrils of smoke rose from his body. "Man, that sucked."

"Why did you prevent us from harming her?" Sango asked, latching her Hiraikotsu onto her back once more.

"It wasn't her that was fighting us." He explained. "Naraku was using her like one of his puppets. He possessed her and acted through her."

On the ground, Kagome shuddered. "Poor girl. And he did it using that collar."

"Yeah." Inuyasha nodded.

"She's in rough shape." Kagome said, pity in her voice. Determination came into her expression then. "Kirara, transform please. Inuyasha, help me put her on Kirara's back."

"What?! Why?" Inuyasha demanded.

Kagome frowned at him. "We're the ones who beat her up and it wasn't even her fault. The least we can do is tend to her injuries and get her cleaned up, put a decent meal in her. She looks like she hasn't eaten in weeks. Now, help me!"

"Feh!" Inuyasha huffed and turned on his heel, fully intending to walk away.

"Inuyasha, if you don't help me I swear I'll 'S' you until you reach America!" Her voice was quiet, but the threat was very real.

He stopped and turned to face her again, reading the truth in her eyes before sighing and coming back over to her. He squatted down and lifted Akiko, holding her to his chest like a slumbering child. She was pale as snow under all the dirt and blood and he found himself hoping ferverently that she would live. She weighed very little and he supposed it truly had been a long time since she last ate. But instead of placing her on Kirara's back where there would be nothing to hold her on and running the risk that she would fall off and receive further injury, he decided to carry her himself. They could travel faster that way; Kirara carrying the humans, and he carrying Akiko.

"C'mon, let's go." He said. Again, his voice was rough. His throat felt slightly constricted, and he felt almost a little dizzy; her unbelievably delicious scent clogged his mind.

Looking askance at him, Miroku climbed up on Kirara before giving Sango a hand to sit in front of him. Kagome came over as well, a small frown marring her face as she looked at him. She climbed on behind Miroku and caught Shippou when he jumped into her arms. They took off, moving quickly, and left the forest.

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(A/N) So, what's up with Inuyasha? And why the bejabbers does Akiko smell so bloody great? I like the weirdness of how important scents would be to demons, which is why I'm making it so annoyingly prominent in the story. I have an idea about why that should be affecting Inuyasha so much, but I'd love to hear your ideas, too. ... That's a hint that says 'Review and tell me what you think!'." Thank you all! Ja ne!


	6. Fear and Loathing

Disclaimer: I'm getting tired of repeating the same thing over and over again. Not mine, wish it was, but eventually I'll come up with something that will be mine!

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Chapter 6: Fear and Loathing

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Dusk the same day found them just off a fairly major road, gathered around a campfire under the eaves of another forest. They had thus far been unable to revive the female hanyou. She lay still as death, bundled in as many blankets as they could spare. Kagome was presently giving her small mouthfuls of water, holding her nose until she would swallow reflexively. Shippou sat on the other side of her, holding her wrist and feeling her heartbeat. Sango was stirring the kettle of stew sitting in the coals and Miroku was leaning back against a log, mending a tear in the hem of his robes. 

Inuyasha, in genuine Inuyasha form, was perched in a tree like some ridiculously large red bird. He was watching Kagome very closely. She had begun gently wiping a small cloth dampened with water from one of her futuristic water bottles along Akiko's face. The filth was coming off in reluctant layers, gradually lightening to reveal palely fair skin. There was a nasty bruise along the left side of her jaw where the skin was broken and swollen. Also, she was still incredibly filthy; her hair and tail were matted and caked with dirt and dried blood. Her clothes were worn out and damaged and stained beyond any ability to clean. Other than that Inuyasha had to admit something to himself; she was incredibly beautiful.

Her eyelashes were black as pitch and long, resting softly against her cheeks. Her skin was fair, but lightly tanned and unblemished beyond the extent of her wounds. Her lips were a pale rosy-pink, full and almost slightly pouty. Her scent rose to his attention again and he found himself wondering what color her lips would be after he kissed them.

Blushing, he pushed such foolish thoughts out of his head. He had no idea who she was, really, and she had tried to kill him this afternoon. Technically speaking that wasn't true; it hadn't been her, it had been Naraku acting through her. Never the less, he had fought her, rolled around on the ground with her, felt her body as she moved beneath him, her warmth against his loins…

'Stop that, you damn hentai!' He thought furiously. 'You're as disgusting as the monk!' He firmly rejected the thoughts and jumped down from the tree.

"How is she?" He demanded, squatting down next to Kagome.

Kagome sighed, turning to face him with a tolerant expression on her face. "Ten minutes ago when you asked me, I said she was as good as could be expected. She's still doing alright, and ten minutes from now, when you ask me again, she'll still be okay. Inuyasha, relax. Nothing's going to happen to her now. Honestly, if you don't stop asking about her I'm going to begin thinking you've got a crush on her, or something."

His face flaming, Inuyasha was about to protest that blatant falsehood. Just as he opened his mouth to spout adamant refusal he caught the tiniest of sounds coming from Akiko. It was only a sigh with a slight edge of a whimper to it, but it caught his attention immediately. His ears whipped forward and stood straight up out of his head. Shippou too leaned forward expectantly, his tail a fluffy ball attached to his butt and eyes agleam.

* * *

Swimming into consciousness that evening was one of the hardest things Akiko had done in her whole life. It was like trying to claw her way out of a dark hole, only the opening was only as big around as her finger. Sound was the first sense to come back to her. She was aware of several bodies next to her, their hearts beating in a smooth rhythm. She could hear voices too; two were only vaguely familiar while the third wasn't at all. She groaned. 

She frowned slightly as she opened her eyes, only a crack at first, but she couldn't seem to muster the energy to open them any further than halfway at the most. The world took some time to swim into focus. It was dusk, early twilight and the stars were just beginning to gleam overhead. Seated around her was an odd group.

To her right was a human girl, no older than fifteen, with long black hair and gentle brown eyes. She held a positively filthy rag in her hand and Akiko had no idea what she was wearing.

To her left and holding her hand was an absolutely adorable little kitsune kit. His bright green eyes gleamed in the firelight and his high ponytail bobbed as he shifted positions to look at her more closely. She could feel his tiny hands on her wrist.

Right above her head was a male inu-hanyou. He had long, silvery-white hair, brilliant golden-amber eyes with slitted pupils, and soft looking dog ears protruding stiffly from the top of his head. He was so very similar in appearance to her baby sister that it was unsettling.

But his scent… He smelled like wind and rain, musky but not overpoweringly so and crisp like spring water just before dawn; his scent was at once warmly present like the sun on wet sand and also cool and sharp like the forest after a rainstorm.

He was unbelievably gorgeous, and he smelled like a memory of summer nights.

His eyes were focused on her with such strong attention that she felt like she should be blushing, even though she'd done nothing that should make him stare so…

The day came flooding back to her. With a small gasp she tried to lift her hand to her neck, but found herself too weak even for that.

Somehow perceiving her need, the human girl took Akiko's right hand and placed it at her throat. The collar was still there. For one long month she'd been wearing it, been imprisoned by its compulsion, tortured by its authority over her body and unable to do much of anything to stop it. But her village was in danger. Her older brother Kintaro and her baby sister Natsumi, her mother, Hinoto; they were all in danger from Naraku. She had to heal and get to them as quickly as possible.

Biting back tears, refusing to show weakness to these near strangers, Akiko did the next best thing. "Who are you?" She was shocked at how weak and fragile her own voice sounded.

The human girl smiled. "I'm Kagome Higurashi. That's Shippou, Sango, Miroku, Kirara, and that's Inuyasha."

_Inuyasha…_ She thought. _Lord Dog. It suits him._

Akiko licked her suddenly dry lips and spoke. "I'm sorry about attacking you. I had no choice; Naraku forced me."

"We know it was the collar." Kagome told her. She smiled again gently. "We hold nothing against you."

"Feh." Inuyasha stood up abruptly and stalked off out of Akiko's range of sight.

Akiko closed her eyes for a moment. He was upset, as well he should be; it was him she had attacked. She opened her eyes again when she heard Kagome move. The human girl moved over to the fire and dished out a bowl of stew, which she then carried back to Akiko. "Here, let me help you."

"What is it?" Akiko asked.

"Beef stew." Kagome told her, stirring it gently to help it cool. "I made it." She tried to feed a spoonful to Akiko, but the female hanyou turned her face away. Kagome sighed. "You need to eat."

Inuyasha returned to Akiko's side then. He squatted down beside her and stared at her hard, golden eyes gleaming in the firelight. "Eat. You have to regain your strength. I won't carry you again all day tomorrow."

Still mistrustful of the stew and not knowing why, Akiko shook her head slightly, trembling and hating herself for it.

Inuyasha emitted a low growl from deep in his chest, a warning to do as she was told.

Akiko gave a higher pitched growl in answer, basically saying 'Fine, I'll do your will, but for my own reasons.'

Mindful of Inuyasha watching her, Akiko refused to let Kagome feed her as had been the girl's intent. Akiko went through the agony of sitting up and forced herself to slowly down bite after bite of the delicious stew. After ascertaining that she would continue to eat without being forced, Inuyasha walked away again and leapt into a nearby tree.

Her shaking muscles only betrayed her once, when a large lump of potato dislodged itself from her spoon and fell back into her bowl, splashing broth onto her already filthy haori. The kitsune kit at her side silently handed her a cloth to wipe it off with. His bright eyes watched her every move with respectful admiration.

Still she was acutely aware of another pair of eyes watching her. Inuyasha stayed in his tree the whole time, but his eyes never left her. She was sure he was watching her to make sure she wasn't hostile, that she wouldn't attack him or his friends again. And that she'd do as he'd told her. That really rubbed her the wrong way. She didn't do as anyone told her; she did what she deemed worthy of her effort. Still, she was hungry, and the stew was good.

She consumed three bowlfuls before she couldn't eat any more. Setting the bowl aside she slid back down into the warmth of the blankets they'd wrapped her in. The collar pressed against her throat uncomfortably, hot and sticky and rigid. She hated it more than anything, but wouldn't try to remove it. She'd tried that when she'd first been captured and the memory still made her cringe. The shock from the collar had made her vomit until her stomach felt like it was inside-out. Naraku's cruel laughter had been a harsh sound in her ears.

One day she would kill him. As slowly and as painfully as she could manage. She would start by tearing off his claws, then she would remove his hands and feet followed by his lips, his foul lips that he had dared kiss her with, compel her to kiss him back with this loathsome collar, those vile lips with which he had called her 'dear flower', 'sweet flower', 'lovely flower'. And then the serious torture would begin; she would peel his hide off in strips, burn his eyes out with acid, slice open his belly and slide in hot pokers. Because of his demonic ability to heal, she could keep all of this going almost continuously until she grew tired of it.

The thought of Naraku in agony didn't make her as pleased as she had hoped it would. Instead it made a bitter taste in her mouth and brought tears to her eyes. The deep, gut-wrenching feeling of self-loathing returned to her and she wanted to scream, to tear something to shreds with her claws, to weep on her mother's shoulder at all the foul things Naraku had done and threatened to do to her and made her do. She wanted nothing more than to run away and hide in a deep dark hole and never come out into the world again. That desire fed off of and in to the knot of self-loathing in a horrible downward spiral.

Hot, bitter tears poured down her cheeks and she curled up into a ball, wrapping her tail around herself. She refused to make a sound, though. She was too proud for that.

* * *

Inuyasha could smell Akiko's hot tears mixed with the rising scent of her anger and hatred. Together they burned in his nose. He buried his nose in the sleeve of his haori to filter out the scent, but it still came to him. Sighing in agitation he spun around on the tree branch and tried to ignore it, but it was no use. 

He glanced down and managed to catch a glimpse of Shippou. The little kitsune was huddled in a ball away from the fire, against the bag filled with things from Kagome's time. He was rocking slightly and his eyes were huge and sparkled with tears. Even as young as he was, he still knew when something was horribly wrong. Akiko's scent confused him, he'd never smelt anything so sad and scary.

Inuyasha suddenly felt a great swell of pity for the kit. He jumped down from his perch in the tree and walked over to Shippou, who looked up with his eyes glistening with unshed tears. Shippou caught the invitation in Inuyasha's eyes and leapt up into his open arms where he trembled, tears finally escaping to run down his cheeks. Inuyasha folded the kit into his embrace and went over to Kagome where she was watching with worry and surprise.

"What's the matter, Shippou?" Kagome asked softly as she stood, looking concernedly at Inuyasha.

Shippou shook his head, unable to express his feelings, still clutching onto Inuyasha's haori for dear life. She reached out to him though, and he turned and grabbed for her. He curled into a ball in her arms and she held him lovingly to her stomach while he shivered.

Freed of Shippou, Inuyasha went over to where Akiko lay. She tensed at his approach and clenched into a slightly tighter ball, but all he did was sit down with his back to hers. He crossed his legs at the ankles and folded his feet under the opposite knees and rested the Tetsusaiga across them. He crossed his arms, putting his hands up the opposite sleeves of his haori and sighed.

After several minutes, Akiko relaxed a bit. She rolled her torso so that she lay on her back where she could see him, leaving her legs covered with her tail and curled nearly to her chest on the far side from him. She didn't say anything, but her eyes were open and she was staring at him; he could feel it on the back of his head.

Some of the fear and anger left her scent. He spoke. "Want to talk about it?"

She was silent for several moments. "No." She finally said.

Respecting that, Inuyasha replied. "Then calm down. No one here is going to hurt you. Go to sleep."

There was a rustling of blankets and Akiko rolled onto her other side so that she was facing him. He felt her continue to stare at him for several minutes, but eventually she stopped and her breathing evened out. Inuyasha remained where he was for a while to make sure she was sleeping soundly before rising to his feet and returning to his earlier perch.

Everyone bedded down for the night.

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(A/N) That chapter was kind of depressing to write, but I like how it turned out. Kinda makes you wonder what kind of nasty stuff Naraku made her do. Well, you'll find out eventually. If you review… hint hint Okay, I'll write even if you don't, but reviews make me feel better about it. The next one won't be so damn depressing, I promise. 


	7. A Trip to the Hot Springs

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

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(A/N) This chapter is much fluffier overall. Enjoy!

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Chapter 7: A Trip to the Hot Springs

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Kagome and the other human girl Sango woke Akiko about an hour before dawn. They were going to a nearby spring to bathe and wanted to know if she felt up to joining them. Delighted at the prospect, bathing wasn't something Naraku had given her time to do this past month, she struggled to her feet and did her best to keep up with them. They walked slowly, for Akiko's benefit, she was sure, but nevertheless she did appreciate the easy pace. Her still weak body ached all over and it would be some time before she was truly healthy.

So much was she looking forward to the idea of bathing that she failed to notice the fact that Inuyasha had decided to accompany them, albeit without their knowledge.

The spring they found was, to their delight, naturally heated. Akiko nearly whimpered with delight at the sight of steam rising off the water. She did her best to try and undress herself, but her trembling fingers proved inadequate to the task of untying the belt of her hakama. With a gentle and understanding smile on her face, Kagome offered her a hand.

"Thank you." Akiko nodded, and Kagome moved in front of her to pull the knot apart. "Again."

"What else did you thank me for?" Kagome wondered.

"Everything. Helping me. Catching me. Feeding Me." Akiko sighed as the belt came undone. She almost literally had to peel her hakama off; they were so encrusted with filth that they would be no good beyond this for anything at all, not even scrubbing floors. "I don't know what I'm going to wear after this." She mumbled.

"Not to worry." Sango said brightly as she came over. In her arms she held a bright red yukata patterned with large beige flowers. "This should fit you well enough; at least until we can get you some replacements for you own clothes." She unfurled it and laid it across a large rock to let the wrinkles in it settle out while they bathed.

Akiko was moved by their open hearted generosity. Blinking at the sudden stinging behind her eyes she vowed to herself that someday, somehow she would repay them.

Her worn-out beige yukata was peeled off next and then she was free. She took a hand from Kagome and settled into the hot spring slowly, one agonizingly wonderful inch at a time. Immersed in the hot water she felt layers of scum begin to soak off of her skin.

It was only a short while later that Kagome produced from a bag she'd brought with her an assortment of oddly shaped bottles and strange looking implements. One thing was something fluffy, but it appeared to be made of a fine net-like material and was a pale pink in color. Kagome handed it to her with one of the oddly pliable bottles and told her what to do with it. The body-puff, as Akiko soon learned it was called, was the most wonderful invention ever! It not only scrubbed the layers of grime off her skin but it also held a delightful substance called body wash that smelled of jasmine and vanilla and produced a mass of tiny soft bubbles that scoured the filth away without making her skin rough and raw.

The next miracle that Kagome produced from her Bag of Wonders was something she called shampoo. It was the same type of substance as the body wash only it was meant to be applied to hair. Akiko had to use half the bottle to fully clean both her hair and her tail, but it was worth it! It was so very worth it! Kagome next produced conditioner and Akiko was left in awe. Her hair had never felt so soft and silky, nor had it ever shined so brightly!

Doing her best to wring her hair out as much as she could she left the water with Kagome at her behest and took a seat on a rock next to the spring. Kagome brought out a comb and began carefully untangling Akiko's hair. It took about twenty minutes just to comb through all of the female hanyou's hair; cleaned and combed out wet it fell to the backs of her knees standing up. It took some work with the oddly shaped comb that Kagome provided, but finally all the snarls were worked out of her tail as well, while Kagome and Sango took turns combing through each other's hair.

Setting the comb aside and donning the borrowed yukata, Akiko smiled blissfully.

She felt like a new demon.

* * *

Inuyasha was no letcher. He didn't follow the girls to watch them, only to make sure that he could hear them if they needed help. He picked a nice tree to perch in and wait for them to come back out of the forest.

Despite being a jerk sometimes, he took his job of protecting the girls very seriously. Every time something serious happened to Kagome he felt terrible; when she was in the past, she was in his care. Sango he looked after as a sister; even though she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, he was still there for her when she needed him, which she did from time to time. So he didn't know what to think about Akiko.

Part of him wanted very badly to send her on her way and have nothing further to do with her. She was a very possible threat to him and his friends; there was no telling if she was out of Naraku's influence, she might go ballistic on them and try to murder them all in their sleep. With that collar still around her neck, what was to stop Naraku from coming after her to get back his jewel shards?

However there was another part of him that wanted to keep her very near. She was the only hanyou he had ever met, aside from himself and Jinenji of course, and he wanted to have the chance to get to know her. Had her life been similar to his? Had her parents been killed? Had people shunned her for being a halfling, but belonging in neither the human world nor the demon world? Did she have problems with her demon blood dominating her? Did she have a human night?

Many questions ran through his mind, all of them screaming to be answered, but a slight sound in the woods silenced them all.

His ears flipped forward, honing in on that slight sound. Was it music? It sounded like someone humming. Leaning forward to concentrate better he frowned. It wasn't a voice he recognized well, so it must have been Akiko's. It was warm and vibrant in tone, and it filled the air with a sense of peaceful contentment. The gentle wind was blowing in precisely the right direction for him to catch her scent before she emerged from the shadows. Her scent was positively intoxicating; it filled his nose to bursting with its warmth and depth, so many layers of subtly different scents that he felt he could spend days analyzing each one by itself. Her scent brought to mind unspeakable things involving moonlight and throaty laughter and long sweaty nights; it made his stomach clench in a not altogether unpleasant feeling knot of heat and shivers.

He was surprised when she came into view. When last he'd seen her she'd been a positive wreck. Matted hair and tail, filth caked into her clothes and hair and onto her skin, wounds half healing or infected. She was still emaciated. But all the filth had been literally washed away.

The first thing he realized was that her hair was not gray and black as he'd first thought. The gray had only been the dirtiness, because now it was pristine silvery white fading into deep ebony black at the ends and shiny as silk and it fell fully to the backs of her thighs. Her tail was long and sleek, waving slightly from side to side like a pendulum with the gentle flow of her hips from step to step. Her skin was tanned in the same manner that fair skin becomes tanned when exposed to many hours of sunlight. It was a warm, slightly nutty looking golden color. A gorgeous scarlet and beige-flower patterned yukata had replaced her worn out hakama and haori. Her eyes still leapt out to him. Fully opened they were a shade of startlingly bright green to rival sun-drenched emeralds, but hooded with her long black lashes they became a deep, secretive forest green; opening them fully, therefore, had the affect of completely changing their color. Her lips were dusky rose color and he again found himself wondering how they would taste.

Forcing himself to snap out of it, he cleared his throat and leapt down from the tree. She stopped in her tracks and looked at him with a light blush on her cheeks and a question in her eyes.

* * *

Inuyasha dropped out of the tree ahead of her with all the grace of a mountain lion. He landed touching the ground with one knee and the opposite hand then rose to his full height to turn eyes of molten gold on Akiko. It surprised her somewhat that he was actually taller than her; she lived in a village consisting mostly of humans and she was as tall as or taller than all of the men. She had to look up slightly to look into his eyes. It also surprised her to see the slight tinge of color in his cheeks.

Her ears twitched back as she caught the sound of a foot scuffing the dry earth of the road, and the sound of Sango's laugh reached her. She searched Inuyasha's face one more time before turning to watch Kagome and Sango emerge from the woods.

* * *

Kagome realized something as she caught sight of Inuyasha and Akiko. They looked _right_ standing beside each other. They'd only known each other for a day, but the two Hanyous looked like they belonged together, even though it was probably **only** because they were both Hanyous. They had such similar physical traits that it was slightly unnerving; similar fuzzy dog ears (Akiko's being black at the tips), uniquely colored eyes (Kagome'd never **seen** such a green green), long white hair (though Akiko's was black at the ends). It had been Inuyasha the Hanyou for so long that it was odd to see another one.

Nevertheless, they had found her, and it had only taken a little bit more to accept her. She was a Hanyou, just like Inuyasha, and they all had a good idea of how rough life had been on him, so they naturally assumed that her life hadn't been much easier.

Purposefully wiping the frown off her face, Kagome stepped up into a happy trot as she came out of the trees' shadows. Akiko smiled at her. Inuyasha's frown became less intense. Sango followed her out and smiled in greeting. Together they all walked back to their campsite.

* * *

(A/N) Slightly shorter than last time, but I promise that the next one will hold interesting plot stuff. 


	8. Sorcery

Disclaimer: Why do I even bother? **Fan** Fiction. Fiction written by **Fans**. Got it?

* * *

Chapter Eight: Sorcery

* * *

Miroku was puttering around the campsite when everyone got back, folding his blankets and setting up the makings for breakfast. He saw Akiko as she walked into sight and reveled that such transcendent beauty could be hidden behind her previous mask of filth. She noticed his staring and blinked confusedly, stopping only a few steps from him.

Everyone but Akiko knew what was going to happen. Kagome sighed and shook her head, Inuyasha 'Feh'd and crossed his arms to watch the monk's neck get broken, Sango clenched her fists.

Miroku staggered over to Akiko and fell to his knees before her, taking up one of her delicately clawed hands in both of his. A blush leapt into her cheeks and her free hand rose to hover over her breast, brilliant green eyes sparkling at him in surprise.

"Lovely Akiko," Miroku said, his voice tremulous with suppressed passion. "Your beauty is so exquisite and magnificent that it leaves me without words to describe how you have felled me. My heart has been swept away from me on the tides of your emotions. My soul teeters on the brink of demise, for you have brought my eyes to their limit of acceptance with your otherworldly beauty. My Hanyou Goddess, I would be saved, if you would only answer this one simple question."

Something in Akiko's expression had changed during his speech, but he could not place it. Now, she drew a trembling breath and responded with a slightly breathless, "Y-yes?"

"Beauteous Lady, would you do me the honor of bearing my children?"

Well, Miroku had had many different responses to this highly refined question; he'd been slapped, punched, kicked in the nuts, chased out of town, even accepted (though usually by an uninvited third party). But the last thing he was expecting was for her to laugh.

It was a quiet chuckle at first, a slight shaking of the shoulders and twitching of the lips, that soon escalated into a full out laugh. She tipped her head back and laughed with her whole body, her fangs gleaming in the morning light, tears of delight streaming from her closed-eyes and a slightly bemused expression on her face. Inuyasha, Kagome and Sango were amazed at this response. Kagome was the first to begin laughing with her, then Sango, and finally Inuyasha. Tears streaming down their faces, Sango and Kagome collapsed into each other's arms, giggling for all they were worth.

Miroku, for his part, was feeling sheepish and mildly humiliated. Embarrassment suffused his cheeks with color, but after a moment he began to chuckle too.

After everyone had calmed down a bit Akiko patted Miroku on the cheek and shook her head, still chuckling. "That was wonderful! Thank you! I haven't laughed that hard in months. And, in answer to your question; you're cute, but you're not _that_ cute."

Miroku nodded sheepishly and went back to helping prepare breakfast.

Akiko sank down onto her nest of blankets with a tiny sigh of relief, tremors of mirth still shaking her body. All of her energy was still not back yet, and she felt sore all over. While the bath had helped, she was far from being healed.

She was in the process of pulling a few blankets into her lap for warmth when she came across the kitsune pup curled up into a ball with his tail wrapped around his toes. He was a gorgeous child and in some ways he reminded her of her baby sister, Natsumi. Smiling and being careful not to disturb his slumber, she picked him up and pulled the blankets over her lap, then set him down in her lap atop the blankets. Running a light hand over his silky hair, she watched as breakfast was being made.

It was an amazingly quick process. Breakfast was done in only fifteen minutes and consisted of a pot of rice to divvy between them, a small omelet with a bright orange cheese inside it, a lovely smelling soup of pale brown broth and long, wavy noodles, and hot green tea. A veritable feast, and in such short order; Akiko was beginning to get suspicious of Kagome's origins, for everything, from the food to the 'shampoo' at the hot spring, had been pulled from her bag.

Setting the troubled thought aside for the meantime, Akiko set about the process of waking Shippou.

"Shippou-chan, breakfast is ready." Akiko said, gently rubbing his shoulder.

Shippou frowned slightly and rolled into her stomach, fisting one of his tiny hands into the fabric of her borrowed yukata. He mumbled something about staying out to play, and sighed.

Not quite knowing what to do, she looked up and made eye contact with Kagome. Kagome smiled and mimed that she should shake him gently.

"Shippou-chan. Wake up, Shippou-chan." Akiko gently shook his shoulders, but he just curled into a tighter ball.

Inuyasha solved the problem with exceptional efficiency. He popped a squat next to Akiko and grabbed the kitsune by the tail, picking him up to dangle by said appendage right in front of Inuyasha's nose. "I'm gonna eat all the ramen."

Shippou's eyes popped open and he began struggling though disoriented at first because the world was upside down. "MY RAMEN! GIMME!" He shouted.

Inuyasha chuckled and tossed him back into Akiko's lap, before shifting positions and crossing his ankles in front of him. Kagome and Sango brought all the food over and soon everyone was in a circle chowing down.

"Akiko-san, why don't you tell us where you're from." Sango suggested, as she leaned forward to pick up another bite of the omelet with her chopsticks.

Akiko chewed her omelet thoughtfully. "I live in a village called Yonezawa, far to the north and high in the mountains. It's taken me about a month to come this far south, and that was with Naraku forcing me. We did zigzag a lot, though, so I would guess we're probably about two weeks travel by foot from my village. I plan to return there as soon as I am healthy enough to make the Journey." She frowned and let her hands sink into her lap.

"What is it?" Inuyasha asked. The others were surprised at how gently he asked the question.

Akiko glanced at him once, and then returned her eyes to the ground. "My family is there. Naraku threatened to harm them, and somehow I don't think they were empty threats. My father and brother are powerful demons, but I don't know how they would fare against the likes of Naraku. I must return as quickly as possible to help them."

Kagome's heart was notoriously big. It was only natural for her to suggest the next step. "We'll come with you!"

"What?!" Exclaimed everyone else in the circle.

"Lady Kagome, with all due respect, a journey of that magnitude would take us as much as two months." Miroku pointed out. He set aside his bowl of ramen and folded his hands in his lap. "It's considerably further a field than we were planning on traveling this trip."

"Miroku is right, Kagome." Sango added. "If we make this journey we will not be back in time for you to attend your birthday party as you wished."

Shippou nodded sagely. "Even though all it takes for you to go back is to jump through the—ACK!"

Inuyasha cuffed Shippou on the head, not hard enough to hurt him, but hard enough to get his immediate attention. "Shut up, brat."

Akiko frowned. 'Go back where,' She wondered. There was definitely something amiss with this group. Setting the thought aside for later consideration, Akiko drew a deep breath and spoke. "If it would ensure your aid, I can say something of value. I can get us there without having to cross the intervening space."

The others looked at her curiously.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha queried.

Akiko frowned slightly in irritation at his tone. "It means that I can get us there without having it take two weeks. I just need a day or so to regain some strength and then I can start laying the spell."

Miroku blinked. "Is it some kind of demonic skill?" His professional curiosity was peaked.

Akiko blushed, suddenly becoming very interested in her claws where they cradled her chopsticks. She mumbled a response that the humans didn't hear, but Inuyasha and Shippou picked up perfectly.

Inuyasha's response was to blink in surprise. His ears twitched rapidly as though uncertain he had heard correctly.

Shippou's eyes went wide and sparkly, and his tail wagged. "Wow! Really?!"

"What? What did you say?" Kagome asked.

Akiko cleared her throat and looked off into the trees. "I've had some training in sorcery."

Sango and Miroku both blinked in surprise and looked at each other, sharing the same line of thought. This hanyou girl was training to be a sorceress? That was markedly… odd.

"Not much, I admit." Akiko said. She combed her fingers through the soft fur of her tail, avoiding everyone's gaze. "I'm not very good yet. But I can get us to my village without too much trouble. That would make the whole trip much easier and shorter. Does that help convince you at all?" She looked up. Her ears were flipped back against her skull in a manner that made her look slightly dejected.

Miroku cleared his throat. "That would make the whole excursion much shorter."

"I could make it back in time for my birthday party with no problem." Kagome said. Sango nodded silently.

What they were really waiting for was for Inuyasha to speak up. He was the unofficial leader of their group, and they would go where he deemed worthy. Most of the time.

Inuyasha considered Akiko's proposal. If they could travel there instantaneously and get a chance to battle Naraku again it could be worth the trip. Akiko claimed that her father and brother were strong demons, so it was possible that they could offer some assistance during the fight. Weighing the options, Inuyasha nodded.

"Let's do it. How much time do you need?"

Akiko though for a moment. "In the interest of expediency, I could push and set the spell tonight. There are a few things I'll need, so I'll set about gathering them immediately and as soon as I'm done I can begin casting."

"How can we help you?" Kagome asked.

Akiko frowned, considering. "I don't think you can. I'm not sure how to describe what I'm looking for, but I'll know it when I see it. Use of the wrong items would be disastrous."

"Then you'd better start looking." Inuyasha suggested brusquely. "The day isn't getting any younger." That said he stood and moved off to start cramming things back into Kagome's bag. Kagome watched him and leapt up with an exclamation to stop him and do it correctly, before he could damage any of her supplies with his rough treatment.

Akiko rose carefully, trying to avoid using any muscles that protested the motions, but it was next to impossible. Figuring that some exercise might help her abused body stretch out and relax she rose and, with the monk as company, wandered off into the trees.

After they'd passed out of hearing of the camp Kagome turned to Inuyasha. "So exactly what is it that's bothering you?"

Inuyasha, not expecting the blunt question, let a pot slip from his suddenly numb fingers, and cried out when it landed on his foot. "Ow! Sonofabitch!" He fell back and pulled his injured foot into his lap. "Damn, that hurts!"

Kagome turned a keen eye on him as she continued carefully packing things away. "You haven't answered the question, you know."

"What the Hell does it matter to you, bitch?!" Inuyasha growled. Rubbing his toes and glaring at the offending pot in Kagome's hand. "I've got something on my mind, that's all."

"Uh-oh, Inuyasha's thinking. He must not feel well." Shippou piped up from the far side of the fire.

"Shaddap, turd!" Inuyasha grabbed a handy rock and lobbed it at the kitsune kit.

"Ow!" Shippou whined.

"Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha flinched and looked guiltily at Kagome, anticipating the use of the Command. Kagome merely frowned at him.

Shippou saw this and was unwilling to leave things unresolved. "Kagome, he hit me with a rock! Aren't you going to subjugate him?"

Kagome turned her frown on Shippou who hunched his shoulders unhappily. "You baited him, so I don't think he deserves it. On the other hand, Inuyasha, you shouldn't throw rocks at Shippou. And you still haven't answered my question."

Inuyasha sniffed and shot a glare at Shippou. "Get out of here, brat."

Catching the clear note of dismissal, Shippou stuck his tongue out at Inuyasha and leapt off of Kagome's shoulder, bouncing over to see if Kirara would play with him. Keeping an eye on Shippou, Inuyasha grabbed Kagome by the upper arm and steered her over towards the tree line where he knew they'd be out of earshot. He drew a deep breath and sighed, hunkering down on his haunches. "What do you want to know?"

Kagome sank to her knees and rearranged her skirt. "What's bothering you? You're being snippy one minute, and the next you're listening attentively and acting almost polite. Something's got you all out of whack."

Inuyasha shrugged uncomfortably. He never liked sharing his feelings; they left him exposed and open to attack. But if there was one thing he'd learned over the last year, it was that he could trust Kagome with his feelings. She'd never turn them on him, ever. "Akiko."

Kagome nodded. "I'd figured as much, but what is it exactly?"

Inuyasha shook his head, flicking his ears in several directions before responding. "I've met so few other Hanyou, none of them humanoid, like me. I have so many questions…"

Kagome's eyes softened with understanding. She nodded and moved to place her hand on his arm but stopped short, unsure if he would appreciate the gesture or not, and put her hand back in her lap instead. "I understand, Inuyasha."

Suddenly uncomfortable with his openness, Inuyasha huffed and closed his eyes with a disdainful expression on his face. "Keh! It's not that important. I don't even really care!"

"Sure." Kagome nodded agreeably before rising to her feet again and moving forward to recommence striking camp.

* * *

(A/N) There ye be! It took me a while 'cause I got stuck. I apologize. I'll do my best to get the next chapter written ASAP. I have another idea for an IY fic floating around in my head that I just may have to begin working on soon. We'll see. Review (please and thank you)! 


	9. Flowers and Feathers

Disclaimer: Not mine…

* * *

Chapter Nine: Flowers and Feathers

* * *

Sometime during the late afternoon Akiko and Miroku returned. Miroku was bright red in the face and sported a large goose-egg on his head and Akiko wore a smug expression though there was some color in her cheeks as well. She carried in her hands a clod of dirt and roots with a pale blue flower growing from it.

She bypassed the camp in favor of heading for a relatively large area of clear ground and began walking around it, occasionally squatting down and scratching at the dirt with the claws of one hand while still holding on to the flower with the other, and ignoring the wondering stares of the others.

Miroku steered his way over to the remains of the fire and sank to the ground resting his face in his hands.

Curious, Sango dropped down next to him. "What's going on?"

Miroku groaned. Without lifting his head he responded. "She found what she was looking for."

Sango glanced over to where Akiko had set the flower aside for the moment and was now furiously digging a hole in the ground, dirt flying out from between her legs, just like a dog. "The flower? What is it for?"

"The spell she's going to cast, I imagine."

Sango looked at him again. "Why are you blushing?"

Miroku's head shot up and he stared at her in denial. "I'm not blushing!" His face was as red as Inuyasha's fire-rat armor.

"Miroku, your face is like a tomato." Kagome advised him on her way past.

Miroku sputtered for a moment, then abruptly stopped and calmed himself visibly by taking deep breaths and closing his eyes momentarily. When he opened them again he was much calmer looking, though there was still a slight tinge of pink high on his cheeks.

Sango couldn't help it; her curiosity was peaked and on some level she was highly irritated. "What happened?" she demanded.

Miroku glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. He blinked once, and then looked her full in the face with a slightly mocking smile that both elevated Sango's blood pressure and made her stomach flutter up into her chest. "Why, my dear Sango, is that jealousy I hear in your voice? Is it that you can't stomach the thought of another beautiful woman holding my attentions?"

And just like that the tables were turned.

Sango, blushing and stuttering, did the one thing that came to her when she became so flustered, flustered as only Miroku possessed the ability to make her. She slapped him, rose and stalked off to ignore him from the other side of camp.

Miroku rubbed at the stinging red palm-print on his face resignedly, following Sango's path with hooded violet eyes. Her slap had felt empty to him; it had lacked all the passion it usually held, as though she'd only done it out of obligation, as a way of escaping a question she though was stupid. She hadn't felt anything doing it. That left Miroku unsatisfied. This time it had not been worth the pain.

He hadn't even gotten to cop a feel…

* * *

Akiko gently placed the flower and its clod of dirt into the hole she had dug, sliding the removed dirt in around it to make it at home in a snug little mound. The spell she was going to cast required there to be two things in common with the two locations, bringing them together in a way to make them the same spot for a fraction of a moment. The flower was perfect for the first item; she recognized it as being one she'd seen in the highland meadows below the eagle-demons' aeries near her father's lands. The second she carried about her person. She'd dropped many in her life traveling through her father's lands, and she knew for a fact that there was at least a few littering the particular meadow she was thinking of.

Reaching inside her borrowed yukata she plucked a feather from her invisible hagoromo and stuck it into the ground shaft down beside the flower.

The feather mantle was a 'gift' from her mother. Due to her heritage through her mother it was a necessity, one she wished she could do without, but that was impossible. Instead she hid it by making it invisible and wearing it wrapped around her middle like an obi under her clothes. She'd lost it once and it had been an absolute disaster; during a fight with some wolf demons the wind had caught it from about her middle and thrown it away from her. She actually abandoned the fight right in the middle and tore off after her mantle, desperately trying to find it. She'd had to tear apart the mountainsides to find it before some doddering old human male found it who knew what it was. She shuddered to think of how that could have turned out. Enforced servitude, just because she lost her stupid feather mantle…

Glaring down at the slender iridescently green and blue and gold feather standing upright in the dirt she huffed and spun to return to the campfire.

"I'm ready whenever you guys are." She announced as she walked past Kagome, who stood at the edge of the ring of stones where there fire had been for breakfast. She swished her tail and brought it up to drape over one shoulder like a fancy clothing accessory.

Inuyasha looked at her oddly for a moment or two before rising from his crouch on the ground and walking past her to pick up Kagome's enormous yellow bag and strut out to the flower. Shippou bounced away after him, swishing his tail from side to side and trying to imitate Inuyasha's impudent stride. Everyone moved over to the place where the flower was resting in its hole in the ground, leaving the campsite none the worse for wear.

Akiko caught their attention as she came back over to the flower herself. "I just need you all to stand near the flower and the feather in the ground. Touch everything we're taking with us; this isn't an easy thing I'm going to do and if there are fewer individual things for me to concentrate on it'll be simpler." They all moved to comply, grabbing the bags, weapons, sleeping rolls, and crowding close together around the two small objects on the ground.

She walked around the group in a tight circle, drawing a ring in the dirt with her foot but staying on the inside of it herself. She put herself in a position aligned with the direction she knew the meadow to be in. After this it was all a matter of concentration and willpower.

Akiko closed her eyes and brought to the surface of her thoughts her memory of the meadow that was her goal down to the most minute detail. It was easy to remember, she'd been through it so many times. …_The grass there was as green as her big brother's eyes and the blue flowers nodded like polite ladies when the crisp mountain breeze danced through, tracing delicate patterns through the emerald fields with intangible fingers… _She felt her power welling up inside her and spilling out to surround her and her newfound companions. _…The mountains rose high overhead on all sides, surrounding the highland meadows with strong arms of rock that had withstood uncountable centuries of wind and rain and upheaval, their gleaming snowcapped peaks lost in the misty clouds not too high overhead…_ She felt her power buff up against and embrace everyone inside the circle, each of them gasping at the warm blue-green and gold light cast by Akiko's increasingly visible aura as it reached out and encompassed them. _…The air was cool and crisp, just slightly tinged with the scent of the pale blue flowers and imminent rain…_ The scene around them began to change, not disappearing or blurring, but overlapping with another scene, one of a mountain meadow, as though they were both in the same place at the same time and each were equally visible. _…High overhead, lost in the mists, the cries of eagles sounded faintly, having spotted them some would report to their cousins the eagle-demons, while nearer to the ground songbirds chattered sweetly to each other… _The image of the mountain meadow finally overpowered that of their campsite from last night, sliding to firmness and reality around them.

Akiko breathed in once deeply, popping her ears for the sudden change in altitude and testing the mountain air. She opened her eyes and turned to face her companions as her aura withdrew into her body once more. She was aware of their faces regarding her with varying degrees of wonderment. Her eyes were glowing goldenly, shining coruscating ripples and sparkles of blue and green light that mottled their stunned faces.

She was somewhat surprised when, as she exhaled, the world wavered in her view and went black as her knees dropped out from under her.

* * *

Inuyasha caught her as she fell, stepping forward and holding her to his chest as gently as he knew how. He was stunned to speechlessness at this display of her power, having not believed that such things were possible. The others were similarly shocked, he saw, looking at her with expressions similar to what he felt on his own face. He looked down at the she-dog half-demon cradled in his arms, noting how very pale she looked, her skin slightly waxy and lips hardly colored at all.

Miroku was the first to come to himself. He blinked and looked around them with wide eyes. They were indeed in the mountains. He glanced back at Inuyasha who held Akiko almost tenderly, then down at the she-demon herself. "She wasn't recovered enough to do this. She was still too weak, but pushed herself for our sake and the sake of her kinsmen."

Kagome nodded, coming out of her shock. Akiko looked pale as death and frail as porcelain where she lay limp in Inuyasha's arms. Stomping down firmly on the surge of jealousy that tightened her throat Kagome set her bag down and moved to make sure Akiko was okay. "She's still breathing, right?"

Inuyasha glanced at her in a slightly irritated manner. "Of course she's breathing! Don't you think I'd have a slightly more active response if she stopped?"

Frowning, Kagome replied defensively, "I was just asking, sheesh! Pardon me for being concerned about a friend!"

Inuyasha snorted and dropped to gently lay Akiko's prone form on the long grass. '_A friend, huh?_' He thought, brushing her long bangs aside with his claws. '_We hardly know her at all. How can she be our friend? Still, there's just something about her…_' Her scent rose to his attention again; it was alarmingly weak and thin, as though it weren't fresh. He supposed it had to do with her exhaustion and unconsciousness. He'd never spent all that much time around other demons and he was kind of rusty where interpreting their scents was concerned.

Next to him Kagome sighed. Inuyasha glanced at her and watched her pull a bottle of water from her bag and wet a cloth which she then draped over Akiko's forehead. So far gone was the female hanyou that she didn't even stir at the touch of cold on her face.

High above them an eagle shrieked; it was a tiny sound, muffled by the low clouds.

Slightly closer another responded.

Then another.

And another.

Alarmed, Inuyasha rose to his feet and looked up into the sky. Wheeling above them were perhaps a dozen or so eagles of varying colors and sizes, calling to each other. Inuyasha frowned and glanced at his companions.

"Let's gather everything up and find shelter. These birds are acting weird, and I think it's going to rain soon." He said.

Miroku nodded. "These mountains are likely to have many caves. I'll see what I can find."

"I can have Kirara carry Akiko." Sango offered.

Inuyasha nodded once, and then looked up at the sky again. Some the eagles were unusually large.

* * *

(A/N) Yay! Another chapter! Finally… Sorry that took me so long, I got hung up in the middle of it with papers to write and tests to study for (finals; yuch!). But it's done at last! One note: the Hagoromo. If you want you can do the research yourself. I put lots of hints in, and it's actually mentioned in an episode of the show, but I don't want to spoil it, so look it up for yourself if you can't wait until I get to it within the context of the story. Have fun! 


	10. Ryoko

Chapter 10: Ryoko

* * *

"It's this way." Miroku pushed back the springy branch of the young sapling and held it as Sango went past with Kirara carrying Akiko's limp form on her back. Inuyasha put a hand to the branch as Miroku continued forward and held it out of Kagome's way. Kagome smiled at him wanly in thanks.

Letting the branch fall back into place behind him, Inuyasha moved ahead to walk alongside Miroku. "How much further is this cave, monk?"

Miroku threw a look at the hanyou. "Not much. Anxious?"

"It's those damn birds." Inuyasha explained, looking up at the sky. He could still hear them calling high up in the mists. They were following them. "They won't shut up! I swear they're following us!"

"What reason would a gaggle of eagles have to follow us?"

"I don't know! But they are!"

"Isn't it a gaggle of geese?" Sango interrupted.

"What the hell does it matter what they're called? It doesn't change the fact that they're still a bunch of overgrown turkeys!" Inuyasha snapped.

Kirara paused and made a small barking noise. Sango looked down and saw that Akiko was beginning to stir. She groaned weakly and her eyelids fluttered.

"C'mon, let's get there and let her rest." Inuyasha prompted.

"Right." Miroku pushed aside another branch and held it for the others.

After a few more minutes they came to a clearing dotted by gold and blue wildflowers and sheltered against the side of a massive pale grey cliff that rose up into the mist. At the base of the cliff, partially hidden behind a large boulder, was the gaping maw of a cave easily tall enough for Inuyasha to have walked through carrying Kagome on his shoulders. There were several large outcroppings of bare, pale grey rock and wind gently traced soft patterns through the long grasses and flowers with invisible fingers. On the far side of the clearing, about thirty or forty paces away, there was a small waterfall that plummeted from a height that was positively dizzying to crash into a deep pool at its base that was ringed by wet boulders. It streamed away along the edge of the meadow and into the forest. The water was just slightly cloudy and a blueish green in color, quite an odd shade, and seemed to almost glow.

The cliff seemed to go up forever, fading gradually into the low clouds. The face of it was dotted with dark holes, caves probably. A blue-grey eagle turned lazy circles in the air beside the waterfall, catching the updrafts created by the water churning against the air. It cried once, a high, eerie sound that sent shivers up and down Inuyasha's spine.

As they started out into the clearing Inuyasha kept a wary eye on the sky, his ears peaked and their tips vibrating with concentration.

"Don't you think you're being just a little paranoid?" Sango asked pointedly.

Inuyasha shot her a dark look. "I am not! I swear that bird's watching us and reporting what it sees. I don't like this one damn bit."

Shippou piped up from his perch on Kirara's head where he was gently mopping Akiko's brow with the damp cloth. "Reporting to who?"

"Whom." Kagome corrected in a distracted voice.

"I don't know, but it's bothering the shit outta—"

Kagome opened her mouth to admonish his choice of language but stopped abruptly and looked up into the mists. "Inuyasha—"

"I smell 'em." He grasped the hilt of Tetsusaiga and felt the sword's power flare. Even sheathed it sensed his intent.

"Youkai…" Sango whispered, looking up as well.

Miroku came to her side and stared into the mists. "Lots of them."

"Kirara, take Akiko and Shippou to the cave." Inuyasha told the fire cat.

"But I can help fight!" Shippou exclaimed, jumping from Kirara's head.

She caught him gently in her jaws by the back of his tiny hippari and took off into the air in one smooth bound.

"Stay there and protect Akiko! D'ya hear me, runt?" Inuyasha yelled after their retreating forms.

"Inuyasha no baka!" Came the insolent reply. He'd stay; when it came down to it, Shippou knew how to behave and that people older than him had good ideas.

They disappeared around the boulder blocking the cave entrance. And none too soon. Out of the mist hurtled a single spear shaft. It didn't seem to be aimed to harm any one and landed right in their midst, stuck upright in the ground and quivering from the force of the throw. There was a strip of pale blue cloth tied to the butt end of the spear.

"That color means parley." Said a male voice from above. "You will be given the chance to explain your presence on this mountain. If your reason is deemed worthy you will be escorted off the mountain and will be free to go about your business. If not…"

"What do you want from us to accommodate parley?" Miroku asked in a loud voice meant to carry through the mist.

Inuyasha hissed. "What are you doing? We don't even know who they are! This is probably a trap!"

"We won't know until we talk with them." Sango pointed out reasonably.

Inuyasha growled at her.

"To accommodate parley you must lay aside your weapons in plain sight."

"Fat chance in Hell!" Inuyasha shouted, tightening his grip on Tetsusaiga's hilt.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome hissed.

There was a rhythmic, low pitched _thwaugh_ sound, as of enormous wings beating. Out of the mist descended a form, indistinct at first, that slowly resolved into that of a washi-youkai.

He looked much like a human; two arms, two legs, one head; but, attached at the shoulder blades were two enormous wings. His features were bold and clean-cut, his long golden hair decorated with blue-tipped white feathers, plucked from his wings, tied in with bits of leather string. The wings themselves were massive, each about seven paces across giving him an impressive wingspan of about fifteen paces. The tips and edges were covered with blue-tipped white feathers that faded up and disappeared into undisturbed pure white feathers. His eyes were a startling and direct shade of summer-sky blue and pierced Kagome where she stood.

His clothes were strange and didn't seem to fit Japan of the time. He wore tight-fitting leather trousers of a dark brown and a very short robe-like shirt of soft beige, crossed at the front and tied with a brown sash.

He was exotic.

He was stunning.

He was beautiful.

Kagome found herself blushing and staring. '_Wow, he's gorgeous!_'

He lighted on the top of a boulder and squatted down to look at them closely. "Why are you on this mountain? None of our scouts saw you climbing it. How did you get here?"

Inuyasha was about to growl a rude response, but Sango laid a hand on his arm and Miroku stepped forward to speak. "We arrived here by magic. Our comrade is exhausted and we were searching for somewhere to allow her to rest and regain her strength. We were traveling to her village to help her fight an evil demon by the name of Naraku."

The washi-youkai hissed through his teeth. "Naraku! Damn that bastard."

"You've met him, I see."

"Not really, but his reputation precedes him." Then the washi-youkai hopped off the top of the boulder and settled his wings about his shoulders so that they looked like a white cape that faded downwards into blue. "My name is Ryoko. I am the son of the leader of the Eagle Demon Tribe that lives in these mountains."

"I am Miroku, an itinerant monk." Said monk introduced himself. "This lovely Demon Slayer is Sango. That one's Inuyasha. And the beautiful maiden Kagome hails from far distant lands."

"I am honored to meet you all." Ryoko bowed, and his voice was smooth and gentle.

At this point Inuyasha finally got a word in. "Listen pal, we'd love to stay and chat but our friends are up in that cave and we need to see to them."

"Allow me to help in some way." Ryoko offered. "Perhaps I can carry the lady's pack." He turned to Kagome who made a tiny squeak as the full force of his marvelously blue eyes settled on her.

Embarrassed by her own response, Kagome let him take her pack and toed the ground, avoiding everyone's gaze.

As current spokesman of the group, Miroku led the way to the cave saying, "She's just up here. We thought this cave would make a good place for her to get some rest. She's had a rough couple of weeks."

Upon arriving at the mouth of the cave they received another surprise. Apparently Ryoko already knew Akiko.

"Aki!" He exclaimed, dropping Kagome's pack on the ground and rushing straight to where Akiko lay against Kirara's side. Kirara growled threateningly at him and he paused for a split second.

"It's okay Kirara." Sango assured her pet/friend.

Kirara's growling immediately ceased but she kept wary eyes on him, as he moved to look at Akiko and touch her face. She responded to his touch a little, her eyes fluttering open and color touching her paper white cheeks. "Ryoko…" She sighed, her voice sounding very weak.

"Oh, Aki, you're alright!" Ryoko seemed very relieved. He pushed back Akiko's hair from her face and felt at her pulse. "You disappeared a month ago and everyone's been worried since. We sent out search parties and scouts but no one could find hide nor hair."

"Naraku abducted me." She whispered.

"Damn that son of a bitch." Ryoko hissed, though half-heartedly as he was so relieved to find Akiko alive and at least moderately well. "I'll kill him!"

"No. I want that privilege." Akiko said firmly.

"Sister, get in line." Kagome said. She knelt down next to Akiko and laid a strip of plastic across her forehead to take her temperature. "You're cold as a rock. Miroku, would you get a fire going? Sango, please pull some blankets out of my pack. Inuyasha, Shippou, come here and sit by her, lend her some body heat."

Everyone began moving to do as she asked. Miroku's fire was going in short order, and soon Sango had retrieved the blankets and Inuyasha was half holding Akiko in his lap while Shippou lay across her legs and Kirara snuggled in from the side.

Inuyasha looked down at her pale face and sighed, pushing back her bangs. She'd drifted back into uneasy sleep again, and there was a cold sweat beading her brow. She seamed to be shivering and her lips were turning blue. "What's wrong with her?" Inuyasha asked Kagome.

Kagome glanced from where she had been rifling through her pack to find some food for Akiko. She saw their position and something sad seemed to enter her eyes. "I don't know. If I had to guess I'd say she used up all her magic power and had to take something out of herself to finish what she'd started. It's left her drained of energy so she's cold and weak."

"How will we give her energy back?" Shippou asked.

"I'm going to make her some Ramen. It's fairly high in calories and should give her some energy to run off of. Plus its hot soup and that should help to warm her from the inside. Other than that I'm going to give her some candy to metabolize immediately. A sugar rush should help bring up her blood sugar and give her some fast energy."

Mostly they just nodded, not really understanding her terminology, but getting the general point. Kagome moved around the fire taking care of these things while Ryoko, Sango, and Miroku stood by the cave mouth in conversation.

"What kind of a situation are we walking into?" Sango was asking.

Ryoko sighed and shifted his wings around his shoulders. "Yonezawa is a fairly large village nestled against the base of a mountain. At the top of the mountain is a palace inhabited by Akiko's father and other Dog Demons in the region from time to time. The only way to the path up to the palace is to go through the village, which is walled and heavily guarded. Humans in this region have a good relationship with Akiko's father, the Inu-youkai Daimyo, Nobunori. In return for his protection they guard the way to his palace."

"I have heard of Nobunori." Sango looked slightly apprehensive and awed. "His name has been circulated among the upper echelon of Humans and Demons alike. He is uncommonly kind for such a powerful daimyo as he is."

"What about Naraku?" Miroku asked.

Ryoko shook his head. "That's the thing. No one knows what's become of him in the last few months. He doesn't seem to have left his palace since the last time he went into it a month ago." He paused and glanced at Akiko where she was cradled in Inuyasha's arms as Kagome was trying to coax her into accepting a piece of candy. Akiko's eyes were open, barely, and were startlingly green against her otherwise extremely pale face. "That was the day after Akiko disappeared. He returned from a trip to visit another daimyo to find her brother unconscious and her gone. Kintaro was livid when he woke up. Natsumi was crying; Hinoto didn't know what to do with herself."

"Excuse me." Sango interrupted. "Who are these people?"

Ryoko looked at her again, blue eyes shining in the firelight. "Kintaro is Akiko's older brother. Natsumi is her younger sister. Hinoto is her mother. How long did you say you've known Aki?"

"Not long." Miroku shrugged. "Two days."

"Well…"

He never finished his thought. Akiko woke fully at that moment, eyes wide and slightly panicky, clawing at the collar around her neck. Her clawing did nothing to the collar but did raise red lines on her neck from her fingernails. Inuyasha grabbed her hands at the wrists and trapped them against his chest as gently as possible. She struggled for a few moments, growling and whining and trying ineffectually to free herself, but she soon calmed down and remembered where she was and who she was with.

"What –" She began, her voice cracking. "What happened to me?"

"You passed out." Inuyasha told her, his voice not unkind.

"Ryoko!" Finally spotting her longtime friend Akiko held her hands out to him. He stooped down and took her hands in his with a sense of long-time familiarity. "How is my family?"

"Your mother and siblings are well, aside from being worried about you." Ryoko told her, hedging around her question.

"And my father?"

Ryoko sighed. "No one knows. We've been unable to get into the palace since the day he returned. There's some kind of barrier keeping us out."

"I'll be damned if I don't smell a rat." Inuyasha growled. The sound reverberated through Akiko and made her dizzy. "That's gotta be Naraku."

"I agree." Miroku said sagely. "But how do we plan to get past his barrier?"

"We'll do it in the usual fashion. Kagome'll blast it with one of her arrows."

"Like the one she shot me with?" Akiko asked, twisting her head to look up at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha looked down and forgot what he had been going to say. Her eyes were catching the light from the fire at just the right angle to make them shine like burnished gold. They seemed to glow hypnotically. The way she had her head twisted exposed the long slender column of her neck invitingly and he suddenly found himself salivating and uncomfortably aware of her body against his. Her scent slapped him in the face like a wet fish; sudden and unbelievably strong it filled his head with thoughts of moonlight and heat and glistening flesh. It sent his heart racing and his mind to senseless gibbering.

The only thing that saved Inuyasha from doing something very embarrassing was Akiko turning her eyes away from him to look at Kagome who had answered her question.

Inuyasha didn't hear the rest of the conversation. He was trying to get his thoughts and heartbeat under control. '_What is wrong with me? I'm not myself. What is she doing to me?_' A short while later Ryoko left them vowing to return in the morning at first light. Everyone settled around the fire to eat some dinner but Inuyasha didn't join them. Instead he went outside and scaled a tree so that he could be alone with his confusing thoughts.

When he came back they were all asleep. He settled against a wall near Kagome and stared at Akiko as she slept until the fire burned down to embers and then went out.

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(A/N) Huzzah! How do you guys like this so far? I sort of feel like a traitor. I'm usually a die-hard Inu/Kag fan but it's my tradition to take stories I love, make up my own characters and mix up matches. I see it as a challenge to my ability to work with a character's reason and established personality without totally destroying them. Am I doing it, or am I killing them?

How do you guys like Ryoko? He didn't have a very big part in this chapter but I like him so I think he'll stick around, at least for a little while. He certainly made a hell of an impact on Kagome, no? (wink, wink, nudge) What do you think? Ryo/Kag? Or should I go with ye old Kouga/Kag pairing which I also love. He'll apear shortly. I love watching Kouga and Inuyasha fight! They're so childish, it's great! Ah well, let me know what you think! Thanks!

Rae


	11. The Situation

(A/N) It was brought to my attention in a review that I'm moving the characters and their relationships around too fast. It's a bad habit of mine because I want to get deeper into the story and reach the so called 'good stuff'. I'll try and draw it out to make it realistic but I'm still very much an amateur author and refining my technique. Bear with me, send me positive feed back, and let me know if I'm spreading the cheese on too think, okay? Thanks guys. You rock!

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**Chapter 11: The Situation**

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The next morning dawned bright and cool. Outside the sun was shining and a brisk wind swept the meadow, dashing up against the cliffs and ruffling the water of the little pond and sending spray away from the waterfall. Inside the cave they were well protected from the wind and cold mist; a cheery little fire was going and breakfast was another of the delightful omelets that Kagome prepared.

Akiko was feeling much better. Kagome had helped to prop her up against Kirara and tucked a blanket around her for warmth. She was still embarrassingly weak, she couldn't hold herself upright or even stand unaided, but she was again on the road to recovery. Her mind was working alright though and all the questions she'd been compiling since she met this group of people began pouring out.

"What's that?" She asked, pointing at a shiny pink pouch that had fallen out of Kagome's larger yellow bag.

Kagome glanced at it and a light mode of panic set in. _Uh-oh, future stuff. How do I explain a zipper?_ "That's just a little bag to hold my make-up."

"What is 'make-up'?" Akiko asked, eyeballing the small bag as though trying to ascertain whether it were within reach.

"Uh, cosmetics." Kagome shrugged. She moved to grab the little bag and stuffed it deep into the yellow travel pack. "You know, rouge, lip color, stuff like that."

"Hmm." Akiko's eyes darted towards the black ring encircling Kagome's wrist. "What's that?"

"Oh, that – that's my hair binder."

"What is it made out of?"

"E – Elastic."

"What's that? I've never heard of this 'eel-atsick'."

"It's a stretchy material."

"What do you mean by stretchy?"

"Uh, I – Oh! Look, Ryoko-san is back!" Kagome sighed as she leapt up from her seat and moved to crouch next to Sango on the far side of the cave from Akiko.

Akiko narrowed her eyes at Kagome, knowing she'd been evaded… for now. Something was very strange about Kagome. Where was she from that she had all these strange things? And what on Earth was she wearing? She dismissed the thoughts from her mind and looked at Ryoko as he nodded a greeting to Kagome and Sango before moving across the cave to her.

Akiko had lived in these mountains all her life. She knew them like she knew the smells and colors of her namesake, autumn, her favorite season. For as long as she could remember Ryoko had been a part of her world up here in the mountains. He was her first and best friend and they had had many adventures together. Whenever the Wolves tried to invade the lowland territories of the Eagle Demon Tribe and her father's lands, the lands of the Silver Dog Tribe, it was usually a party of Silver Dogs and Eagles led by Ryoko and Akiko and Akiko's brother, Kintaro, that were sent to run them off. The Eagles and Silver Dogs kept a good relationship with each other; they depended on each other during enemy incursions and aided each other in battle. The Wolves were never a serious threat; they were many but most were weak. Of course their leader was young and strong and faster than Akiko could believe. He was also quite a womanizer, and always wound up hitting on her and trying to sneak kisses. What was his name, again? Akiko couldn't recall, it had been some time since she'd had to fight him. It was unimportant, anyway.

Ryoko folded his wings around his shoulders before kneeling at her side. His eyes were concerned and Akiko smiled at him. "Good morning, Ryoko." She said.

He smiled back, relief flooding his face at the strength in her voice. "Good morning. How are you doing today? You looked like crap yesterday."

"Thanks, Birdie, you're a real pal." Akiko smirked. She stretched her hands out to him and he pulled her effortlessly to her feet, and then scooped her into his arms. She swooped her tail up and draped it across her legs so that it would be out of his way. "I am feeling much better, not that you care, ya big turkey."

Ryoko laughed. "Let's see if we can get you feeling even better. The sun is shining outside. Let's go." Ryoko carried Akiko outside and brought her to one of the large boulders that littered the field. He propped her up against it and draped her blanket across her lap before settling down by her side.

Akiko watched the wind in the meadow grass for a few moments and sighed. "So what is the situation?"

Ryoko's eyebrows nettled and he looked down at his lap. "We're really not all that sure. Hibiki and Tsugasu flew out this morning to let your mother and siblings know that you've returned. There is a barrier around the Palace-On-The-Mountain and on one's been able to penetrate it since it went up a month ago."

"My father is inside." Akiko said softly.

"Yes." Ryoko nodded. "He… He came home from that meeting with the Lord of the Northern Lands and when he found out about the attack on Yonezawa he… went berserk. He turned to his full form and went bounding up the mountain side. He crashed through the gates and the front doors and when the doors swung shut behind him… this… purpley-black barrier leapt up, blasting everyone away from it. We can't get inside…"

Akiko nodded. Her father was now ensnared in the same foul web as she was; the web of Naraku. She brought her fingers up to the collar encircling her throat and felt its power humming beneath her hands. "Ryoko, I must get back to Yonezawa as soon as possible."

"You're not going anywhere until you're at least partway recovered." Ryoko stated. "Were you **trying** to kill yourself! If you went through _half_ of what your friends told me you did, you shouldn't even have been thinking about teleporting _yourself_, let alone Kami knows how many **other** people!"

"He's right."

Akiko started and cursed herself for not hearing when Inuyasha snuck up on them. He was standing about ten paces away and down wind with his arms crossed over his chest and the sunlight reflecting on his snowy hair. There was something in his golden eyes that reminded her of her brother when he knew he was right about something and she was wrong. Then again, maybe it was just their color that reminded her.

He uncrossed his arms and let the right one drop to his side while his left hand went to lightly grasp the hilt of his sword, then moved to sit next to them, dropping into the grass with his legs crossed. He glanced at Ryoko and gave a wary nod, which was returned, then focused his piercing golden gaze on Akiko. "You're too weak to do much of anything right now. You can barely walk, let alone go barreling into some doubtless dangerous situation. We'll stay here until you're better, and then move out."

Akiko had remained silent through his whole lecture, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from yelling at him, but there was only so much bossing around by a near stranger she was willing to take. "Just who the Hell do you think you are, bossing me around like that! Yes, I'm grateful for the help you've given me so far, but you do not get to decide where I go nor when I do it! I can go if I want to!"

Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow. "Then go."

Akiko stared at him. "I will!" She pushed the blanket off her lap and stood, swishing her tail defiantly. In her haste to get away from him she failed to notice the fact that he rose to his toes as she rose to her feet, though he remained crouched, waiting. She only made it four steps before her knees buckled and gave way beneath her.

She was truly surprised when Inuyasha caught her. As she was dropping to the grass he slid underneath her and pulled her to his chest, gently but firmly. She braced her hands against his chest, hard as rock beneath the many layers of clothing, and tried to calm her suddenly racing heart, knowing he could hear it. Her only hope was that he thought it was from her exertion.

She couldn't bring herself to look into his eyes. She was too ashamed of this display of her weakness. Instead she dropped her head forward and rested her forehead against his chest so that he couldn't see her face. It was only coincidence that it felt so nice to have him hold her. It probably stemmed from her exhaustion. She imagined it would feel the same if Ryoko did it. _Well, maybe not quite like this…_

She took a deep breath to expel her anger and relaxed into his grip to let him know that she wouldn't try to move again. With the breath came his scent, warm, deep, earthy, fresh, and so very present; it made her want to run in the forest after the rains and let her thoughts fly away with reason.

Fighting to control her sudden blush she swallowed and closed her eyes against the red material of his haori. "If you say 'I told you so', there will be pain. Lots of pain."

He didn't say anything but some how she knew he was smirking. She just knew it!

Ryoko, however, had been watching the whole encounter with amusement. He heard what she said and broke out laughing. She turned her head, though she stood still within the circle of Inuyasha's admittedly supporting arms (without them she would have been a heap on the grass) and glared at her long time friend. "I know where you roost."

This just made him laugh harder.

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(A/N): It's a little short but it's been so long since I last updated that I thought I should put it up anyway. Keep those reviews coming! Ja ne! 


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